By A Correspondent

The central bank has insisted that the six-month-old Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency is here to stay, but business wants it to be discontinued because of its volatility.

Speaking yesterday at the CEO Africa Roundtable (CEO ART) currency review breakfast meeting in Harare, CEO ART chairperson Oswell Binha claimed that the ZiG had turned into an arbitrage tool that was hurting the economy more than it was helping.

According to Binha, the ZiG suffered the same fate as its forerunners, the bond notes, RTGS dollar, and Zimbabwe dollar, which were all eventually discontinued.

“So, (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) deputy governor (Innocent Matshe), let me begin by igniting this discussion by demanding that the ZiG be immediately removed from the currency basket and that other currencies be allowed to trade until we reach a point where we decide to have a stable currency,” Binha stated.

“In order for everyone to navigate and choose which currency to use, we need time to have these important discussions about a currency referendum.

“I believe it is time for all economic actors to have the chance to participate and be able to make wise decisions.”

Over the past two months, the local currency, which authorities claim is supported by gold and foreign exchange reserves, has been under pressure and has suffered a significant loss against the US dollar on the black market.

Last month, in order to provide more exchange rate flexibility in response to the economy’s growing demand for foreign currency, the RBZ was compelled to devalue the ZiG by 43% to 24,39 per dollar.